Ratings Rat Race: NBC Rules With ‘American Ninja Warrior’

NBC was No. 1 for the night in the demo among broadcaster, thanks to American Ninja Warrior, which climbed 13% week to week (1.8 compared to 1.6 rating) and 17% in total viewers (5.5 million vs. 4.7 mil). The 5.453 million in total viewers is a season high for a regular Ninja and best since a special USA vs. Japan telecast on January 13 (5.537 million). In its second hour, Ninja finished ahead of CBS’Under The Dome recap (0.8/3, 4.34 million viewers), which finished last in its time slot, and ABC’s Mistresses original episode (1.0/3, 3.66 million). NBC noted its Detroit affiliate pre-empted NBC programming for a fireworks special that could impact these prelim stats, particularly in this 10 PM hour.

With MasterChef (1.7/6, 4.93 million) and 24: Live Another Day (1.4/4, 5.72 million), Fox was the night’s most-watched network, also leading among viewers 18-34 and key male demos.

ABC was the second-most-watched network of the night, winning most female demos. At 8 PM, a two-hour broadcast of The Bachelorette was the night’s most watched TV program (5.9 million, 1.5/5) for its fourth consecutive two-hour telecast.